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On the radio, McCain sounded better than Obama.
This is because McCain sounded like he had convictions, and Obama at times (especially on foreign policy) sounded like "McCain Light", which really bothered me. I heard him use the words "war on terrorism" and that was a great disappointment for me. And the bit about Pakistan "we'll take them out", and the idea that the Afghanistan war is good and justified and winnable, and we need to "get and kill" Bin Laden. Even Smirky himself (even though he did not mean it) said "bring him to justice".
I guess Obama upsets me, because he represents such hope, and I am so nervous that his advisors are all the same old players, and I have stopped feeling a sense of change with him especially since he selected Biden as his running mate, to be honest. I would have loved it if he had said "John thinks that every problem has a military solution, and that's not the case". "Yes, I will meet with Ahmadinejad or anyone without pre-conditions. The point is to do all we can to change the tone of the debate, from incendiary stupid statements, to a return to reason." bla bla bla...
Plus he always ignores the thousands of contractors and profiteers who are raping Iraq and the taxpayers and who should be gone even before the troops. That always worries me, as he seems to have swallowed the Bush Cheney line hook line and sinker. When McCain was touting the great success in Iraq, all Obama had to say was "success for whom"? Kellog Brown and Root? Blackwater? Certainly not the Iraqi people who are leaving in droves this intenable situation and this occupation that takes away their jobs and their lives. So lots of missed opportunities, and a lack of "change". In my opinion.
Then, I went home, and watched the debate recorded on TV. This allowed me to go to sleep a little reassured. McCain looked very Bush like, and quite creepy. And I don't think that's going to go over very well with the electorate. He did use the Bush-Rove strategy, of belittling his opponent, making fun of him with little smirks and cagey looks at Jim Lehrer, and of course lying with gusto about most everything (especially his loooonnng record of voting on this and that). Obama seemed to do a great job of not looking outraged or frustrated.
So in conclusion, the debate looked better on TV than it sounded on the radio, but there was an unfortunate sense of deja vu, a little too much of "Kerry-Bush" in this debate. Obama's definition of himself was not clear enough, and as a result he kind of let McCain set the essence of the debate. Nothing new there, and as we know, 2004 was close enough to steal.
I wish Obama would drop the advisors, and come through as himself. He seems much more intelligent and inspiring than his coaches, and my belief which I think is contrary to 99% of the world, is that he would get more votes if he came off as completely different and on another plane than the same old politics that got us to where we are now.
Wake up, Obama, and you'll blow the Repubs and McCain out of the water in a landslide!
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